A high-school science project from Bidar aimed at creating awareness about dengue and preventing it from spreading, has won accolades at the 23rd National Children’s Science Congress held recently in Chandigarh.

The project titled ‘Better environmental management for control of dengue’, listed the environmental conditions that contribute to the spread of the disease, and suggested ways to prevent it. The team members were Sankalp Dhummansure, Basavadarshan, Nishchay Patil, Mohit Kautge and Karthik Asthure.

The five students of St. Joseph English Medium School went around the city and collected data on infected water sources, patients who had suffered from the disease and common mistakes by residents that led to breeding of mosquitoes.

They visited around 500 houses in two blocks of Bidar city and Shamarajpur Agrahara village nearby. They got details from the district health office and the disease surveillance office about the occurrence of the disease, as well as information on rainfall for the last three years from the Krishi Vigyan Kendra.

They also went door-to-door creating awareness about the disease and how to stop breeding of mosquitoes. They told home makers that some drugs and vaccines were being tested in France.

They used statistical tools like averages and data indexing to analyse data. “When we analysed temperature data, we realised that Aedas aegypti mosquito survives best between 16 degree Celsius and 30 degree Celsius, with a relative humidity of 60 to 80 per cent,” says Sankalp. “Its population fluctuates with rainfall and water storage. We used this to prepare a simple chart that explains dos and don’ts.”

They have also prepared a picture tutorial on how to keep surroundings clean. Their findings were well received by the jury and delegates, he said. School authorities have congratulated the team.